IoT and Smart Cities

The term Smart City is one which is given to a city that uses a lot of technology in the form of Internet of Things (IoT) and other modern technological advances to both improve the city for its residents and achieve better management of the many diverse aspects which make up a city. Some of the more advanced smart cities like Amsterdam, Songdo, and Masdar City have taken the use of technology even one step further so that residents of those cities can monitor the city’s performance and give feedback on ways it could improve further.

Privacy

As these technologies require many sensors obtaining and sharing information, some people have concerns as to the privacy of smart city residents and this is certainly something which individual governments will have to monitor. These technologies cannot just be used for city authorities but also have valuable attributes for businesses, governments, and the military and so advances will continue in the same direction for many years yet regardless of people’s privacy concerns.

Traffic Control

The smart cities use their modern technology to monitor many aspects of its residents and businesses daily lives and analyze the data to make improvements where necessary. The technology also allows for easier control of traffic in the city and also in and out of it. Some areas where this technology helps greatly is in the field of garbage collection as the sensors can inform the authority which areas are most in need and when. The technology can also control traffic lights in accordance with the flow of the heaviest traffic, helping to alleviate traffic jams and other inconveniences.

Smart Buildings

Needless to say, any smart city will have numerous smart buildings and other facilities specialing in the field of healthcare and security as though are fields where the IoT is perhaps most useful. It is in fact a combination of smart buildings, facilities as well as city authorities which categorize the city as being smart.

Universities

As more smart cities appear on our maps the need for more people trained in the smart technologies grows and in order to match these rising needs, many universities now offer IoT courses training students on the benefits it can offer and how to make the most use of those benefits. There is however one downside to using all this technology and that is where technology exists, so do hackers unfortunately and so the authorities controlling smart cities must take adequate security precautions to resist threats from hackers.

Built from Scratch

Some new cities like Songdo have specifically been built as smart cities and so all the necessary sensors were built into its infrastructure whilst other, older smart cities like Amsterdam have had to incorporate them into existing infrastructure. Regardless of whether smart city was built as one or was adapted to become one, their level of technology will always exceed by far, that of a regular city and so will therefore be more efficient and effective in, not only its management but also in pleasing its residents.